College Profile: West Virginia Wesleyan College

West Virginia Wesleyan College is a regionally accredited private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,200 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist church in order to provide continuing education to local pastors, particularly because of a lack of secondary schools in the state at that time. It was originally known as the West Virginia Conference Seminary and operated at the sub-collegiate level. The student base rapidly expanded to include individuals outside the clergy. The school became a college-level institution in 1900 and renamed itself the Methodist University of West Virginia in 1905. However, using the term "university" proved to be improper, due to the physical size of the campus and the school's curriculum. The college assumed its current name on Tuesday June 5, 1906. (See expanded History.) U.S. News & World Report considers West Virginia Wesleyan a national liberal arts college and ranks it in the fourth tier. Wesleyan was listed as one of the "Best Southeastern Colleges" by the Princeton Review in 2005 and 2007, and a "Best-Value College" in 2006 and 2007. Wesleyan is one of 150 schools to receive that distinction. Wesleyan continues to serve as a residential, liberal arts college. The primary majors are primary and secondary education, business, and natural sciences.